Annulment
by Wicked R
Summary: Jack's having to put up with Will while struggling with married life. Sequel to my Subject To Consummation, but it's written in a different style.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Annulled 

Disclaimers: I don't own any pirate/ship and I don't wish to.  
Genre: romance/adventure

Rating: PG for a little smut, not too much.  
Summary/Set: Jack's busy with trying to fulfill the conditions of his marriage and he has to put up with the presence of Will, who holds clues to the location of the Fountain. 

Pairing: Sparrabeth, Willabeth, Jack/Calypso.

"Where are ye goin?" Seeing that Elizabeth was trying to leave the cabin mere moments after stepping in with a bowl of cashewnuts for him, Jack jumped up from his table covered with all the different existing maps of South Florida that he could find. He'd been sitting there half the night, after Elizabeth has fallen asleep, the lamp was still flickering a little, he'd forgotten to put it out with the arrival of daylight. 

"I have to load up a winch, I've seen a sheet not rigged right," Elizabeth tried to slip out the half open door, but Jack caught her by the shoulders and turned her towards him. 

"Don't I have a crew to deal with such things?" Jack pulled her a little roughly against his warm, hard body.

"Yes, and I'm part of that crew..." Elizabeth started, but Jack put an arm around her waist, leaned her back and raised his other hand to lift her chin up for a long, lingering kiss, a hungry gesture that she couldn't help, but reciprocate, her body melting against his, her hands coming round his back. 

It was one of those, hungry and desperate kisses that Jack oftentimes gave her these days, a sense of the depth of his feelings for her conveyed within it so much that they made the sensual, bodily experience of his body next to hers almost unimportant. Jack's eagerness surprised her though, for two reasons. First, they had celebrated their first anniversary last night, and that in true style, as if making up for everything they couldn't do on their wedding night because of Jack's indisposition. Secondly, she was surprised because over the last few months her husband had been too engulfed in the search of the Fountain Of Youth to be giving her much consideration. 

The next surprise came with how quickly he scooped her up. She showed her disapproval of the early morning intimacy before breakfast by smacking him lightly in the chest.

Jack responded with a growl, telling of enticing desire, yet a little authoritative, his hazy eyes telling her he more like needed her, than wanted her at the moment. He stood on the same spot for a while, gazing at her, "yer simply wonderful," he whispered. Such wonder it is to have you, too, he added to himself. You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it's like. One day… you won't be able to resist and go for the freedom you don't find on the Pearl with me as husband. One day, you'll leave me. Holding onto her as if it was that day coming now, he sat her down gently on the table where there was a little space amongst all the papers. He straddled her knees and thrown his own shirt off before starting to undo hers. 

She watched him at work, strangely, dreamily focused on the task of removing her clothes, his movements smooth as if she was a porcelain doll. At the sight, she couldn't hold herself back from running her fingers over his creole, chiseled stomach, those muscles that were so much more stronger than the unknowing onlooker would've thought. 

On turn he traced parts of her he'd always found most alluring, her lips, her hair, the side of her face, her breasts, but soon forgot just concentrating on those and wanted to make his every bit of her. He was now nearly covering her, pushing her down atop his all so important maps. Realizing his mistake, he scooped her up again and carried her to the bed. 

"What's going on, Jack?" She asked when his mouth finally parted from hers, "what's the haste?You can have me every night if you so wished."

He played with the rings on her fingers as he answered, "I know, but...don't you want a child Lizzie?"

Elizabeth laughed. It's not that she didn't wonder why it didn't happen so far, especially during the first few months of their marriage when they were constantly and consciously trying to entertain themselves with attempting to break their own records of how many times they were able to make love on the same day, but she felt young and there was no need for such responsibility in their dangerous and venturesome world. Not to mention imagining Jack as a father just didn't cypher in her mind. Not as if you could drag a child with you on your frequent visits to the bottom of the ocean, battles and jail cells. Or would want to. "Why would you want a child, Jack?"

Because only if you'd become pregnant, would our relationship be recognized as a marriage, because at this moment in time our so called wedlock has been annulled with the occasion of our so called first anniversary, because according to the damn world of law of the new colonies yer glorious former fiance had married us by, an annulled marriage is considered never to have existed! But because Elizabeth was not aware of this wonderful idea Will had imposed upon them, he could say neither of those things and neither could he say why he'd neglected her lately, why the fountain was so important. Cause how is he going to keep her? If he had the Youth Water, at least he could offer her something else enticing, additionally, he'd be full of life and vigor, surely he could give her a child then, tie her to himself to the extent that was even possible with a free spirit like her? Why does he want a child? No reason whatsoever, other than that of course. But he couldn't tell that either, so he was quite thankful for somebody knocking on the door, but not at all glad for the reason for the disturbance, as he found out in a moment's time.

Mr. Gibbs has long learned not to just burst in, not even in an emergency situation, in case he'd have to be embarrassed by what he'd seen and have to retreat. He only shouted through the door, "the Flying Dutchman's on the horizon." 

Jack gulped. Will appearing on that very day, was no coincidence, that he was sure of. 

Tbc


	2. Proffer

Chapter 2: Proffer

"Captain Turner!" Jack bowed his head not so mock appreciatively towards the young man. A good trick the whelp pulled off there. "A day off yer duties I hope!" He watched as Elizabeth held out her hand to help William jump on board, but didn't let go of that hand after he was standing next to her. Her hugging the boy tight, Jack expected that, but how about that little fleeting, friendly kiss blown to his mouth before that? Was that in the rules of those two meeting again as well? And what's with William's unconcealed utter happiness at her bearhug? "What brings you to the Pearl?" He took a big, theatrical breath and pulled himself to his full height, hiding that the great Captain Jack Sparrow was horrified at the sight of a whelp.

"I owe you thanks, Jack!" Will said a bit stiffly, his wet hair glinting in the sunlight, having just come up from the depths.

"Again? Do I remember anything about the reasons of ye having to thank me?" The older captain stepped back, a little alarmed, "oh, why did I even ask?"

"Firstly, I'm immortal," Will started.

"Aye, I know ye are," Jack said acidly. Annoying enough, how could he not remember?

"Well, wasn't it you who left me to the Kraken, giving me the chance to kill Davvy Jones? What's more, if we didn't get into a fight, the Kraken babies couldn't suck my black magic heart out, leaving me just plainly immortal, without any additional drawbacks!"

"Oh, yer welcome then!" Jack grinned, showing his teeth, suggesting he could squeeze the life out of Will right there and then with his bare hands, immortal or not.

Elizabeth finally untangled her limbs from the ferryman's body to give Jack a strange look, but still didn't let go of Will's hand. Her husband couldn't hold Will responsible for what he did when he was influenced by his evil black heart! "Don't be so surprised to see him here, Jack. We were childhood friends, we grew up together and some parts of us will always belong together," she defended her first love.

"What? Me? Surprised?" Jack replied in a high pitched tone of voice, "it's just a little odd, isn't it, did ye not notice?"

"If you want the Fountain Of Youth, you'll need what I offer," William stepped forward, not needing anybody defending him.

"What's innit fe ye, mate, helpin me?"

"My reasons are pure and simple. If I'm going to live forever, I'd like Elizabeth to have that as well. Besides, I don't want to ferry souls to the next world forever."

"So that's the plan, is it? Let me guess. Ye need the Pearl to get there."

"A smaller ship than mine wouldn't hurt to travel upriver on the Danube as far as we can into a land of utter gloom as darkness itself. Then somebody needs to travel deep into the land to the shadows without order."

"The Danube ye say. Nowhere around here then, yet me maps tell me otherwise."

"We're not looking for the Fountain Of Youth. Men like Davvy Jones' crew, gods tired of their immortality all eventually start looking for the Fountain of Death to reverse it."

"Davvy Jones did really waste his immortality on ye mate, if yer already fed up with sailing on the seas till the end of time. Mind ye," he put a finger to his lips, arriving on the same conclusion as Will did when he first heard of the concept, "it's not the Fountain Of Death we want to find, but the immortals looking fe it too, all knowledgeable of how to get to live on."

"An accord then?" Elizabeth offered, happy those two could work on the same goal and during that, there'll be some form of peace.

Tbc


	3. Confidant

Chapter 3: Confidant

"Are you happy?" Will surprised Elizabeth with his presence.

"What?" She almost dropped the kamal Jack'd sent her out with so they could determine their exact latitude. One thing for sure, she'll have to position it again. "Yes," she answered quickly, but without turning, or looking at him.

Will scratched his head, "cause your happiness is important to me," Will stressed, "Jack always used to tell me how I kept missing chances to tell you how I felt and maybe he was right and he didn't miss his chances, that could've been the difference between us and how it was him who ended up with you. But I'm not passing on this chance, to at least find out if you're happy if I can't be here with you to see it for myself." Since you destroyed me, at least one of us should be happy, or the whole thing was pointless.

Elizabeth paused. A lot had changed since they last met. She still loved Jack and this way of life, but she didn't feel as close to Jack as she wanted to be. She thought they were so alike, that they'd be soulmates, but Jack remained who he was, an enigma, with a myriad of secrets to be unraveled. Besides, how could she talk about her love for another man without hurting Will? "My life is quite content," she decided to tell him smiling.

Will saw her hesitation, stepped forward to kiss her on the forehead and enclosed her in his arms, "we were friends Elizabeth, the one who you ran to and confided in every time your father wanted you to do something you didn't like? I'll always be your friend and...I'm asking because let's just say you didn't look like the happy couple. Is there something wrong?"

"I'm just worried about Jack, that's all. He's not eating, he's so centered on this fountain he can not sleep even if he comes to bed. It's a wonder that he can sometimes still..." Make love, she wanted to say at first. "...stand. I was hoping he was giving up achieving immortality that factitious way since he mentioned wanting children. Maybe he wanted to live on through them, I could only think of that reason why Jack would want children and then you showed up, bringing another route to the fountain..."

"He wants children, hm," Will smiled mysteriously, "that'll be difficult."

"Why?" Elizabeth looked up at him gobsmacked.

"You certainly wouldn't know about the whores in Tortuga, none of them say they ever had any baby worries with Jack, like they had with all the other sailors."

"That doesn't prove anything," Elizabeth said, although what she just heard accentuated her own suspicions about why she didn't get pregnant.

"I met Captain Teague and a few of the pirate lords a while back, they wanted to let me know what according to the code was expected from the old ferryman, the way it was before Davy Jones. Capitaine Chevalle was in a merry mood telling tales about some adventures during an overland assault tracing the old route to raid Fort Charles with Sparrow. He was all so happy about it, how funny it was, Jack getting injured, you know, down there."

"It doesn't prove anything," Elizabeth kept shaking her head, now distancing herself from Will. How dare he bring up subjects like that? But if that was all true, shouldn't she be angry with Jack too?

tbc


	4. Gap

Chapter 4: Gap

Jack looked up in surprise, startled out from his alcohol induced lax state when Elizabeth marched in and slammed the cabin door behind her.

She didn't even have the kamal with her that she left with a few moments, as he perceived it, or more like half a bottle of rum ago. Sensing trouble, Jack set down the divider he was previously using to measure how far they could go along the coastline of the South of Florida for a last skim without being timewise too much off course for crossing the Atlantic to reach Gibraltar. Or at least he was doing that before fazing out staring to the bottom of his bottle. "What's wrong?" He asked standing up from the desk as agile as he could manage in his inebriated and tired state. "The whelp causing ructions?" He guessed, and panicked. Perhaps he'd told her their marriage was as good as nothing now. He expected that, if they were going to travel together, the boy'd find a way of telling her sooner of later, that was one of the reasons why it would've been pointless to stop her from ever being alone on the ship, a perfect chance for William to come forward. He bet though that the whelp omitted to mention who's fault it was the ceremony was conducted according to colonial law. "Don't forget it was dear Will who married us," he defended himself before he got fired at.

And attacked he got all right, Elizabeth pushed the wobbly legged pirate back into his chair forcefully and leaned on the desk to accentuate her words by invading his personal space, "why doesn't your compass work Jack? You spend every waking moment thinking about this damn fountain and some more. All you should need is your compass to show you the way to what you so obviously want most."

"My compass works fine, as always it'll show me the way to you, whether you are lying next to me or up on the crow's nest."

"But why, Jack, why? I was here with you the whole time, I was married to you, you had me, why would the compass need to find me!" She squinted suspiciously.

Jack ignored the question about the compass, there were more important questions to be dealt with. Given her past tense when talking about having been married to him, William must've surely told her about the law. "You were married to me and you can still be married to me again, marriage agreement annulled for lack of children or not. Let's go to port, find somebody who could marry us, some witnesses and we can do it all over again, right now."

Elizabeth nodded slowly, understanding Jack's latest behavioral pattern made her heart freeze in shock and her actions calmly cautious. "Does it Jack? Does the compass point to me really?" Cause if it did, none of his previous deceit would matter. She grabbed the compass lying dusty and buried under some papers from the desk and tossed it in front of him with the lid open.

Jack took a deep breath and touched the compass with a few fingers, making it sense it was him who touched it, making it spin. He didn't look down, there was no need, he loved her. Everything led to her, he wanted the fountain for her, he wanted the child for her, he wanted her not to have to worry about how they got their provisions, for her to see all the treasure she found alluring, for her to go see the world, it was all about her...He wanted so many things for her, for her happiness, it was hard to determine which one he found most important and what he wanted most at this moment in time...The realization of what he was just thinking about taking shape in his sottish brain, his eyes rounded in panic before he let the air out slowly and dared to look down at the needle of the compass moving senselessly round and round, backwards and forwards without no pattern at all because he didn't exactly know what he wanted!

Elizabeth's hands balled into fists, "what are you trying to pull! You never tell me anything important, do you? You never tell me what's going on in your mind, you never tell me much about your past! You never have and you never will!"

"What do you mean?" Jack fake laughed and moved round the table to try to quieten her protests with a quick kiss, it had worked before on numerous occasions.

Elizabeth reeled back disgusted, easily anticipating and avoiding the drunken man's uncoordinated attempt to get to her. "You'll never change. You'll never have a sense of respect, properness. No matter what I do, your lack of moral center and personal hygiene remains the same. You're a drunk, a liar and you don't love me." She opened the door, "I'll be on the Dutchman with somebody who does love me. Good luck with the quest!" She slammed the door the same way as when she entered, just from the other side now.

Jack stood unmoving, with his back to his desk. Running away, avoiding making her unhappy was no longer possible, so he'll just have to face destiny bravely, head on. But then how was it that in that moment, all color faded, his mind dimmed and he felt so weak he could hardly breathe?

Elizabeth stormed up to deck, immediately bumping into Will as she stepped outside into the open air. "How important is for you finding the fountain?" She skipped to the important part, there was no point to going through the same carry on as they did with Jack, besides, Will was more likely to give a straight answer.

"Exactly as important as it is to you," Will held her arms gently and encouragingly, having sensed something could've gone in his favor down there.

"In that case, I'd like a ride on the Flying Dutchman, and anywhere but here." It was time for an ultimatum, to see if Jack'd change this way, if she hasn't been able to change him in any other. That, if he was interested at all.

Tbc


	5. Replica

Chapter 5: Replica

Jack flipped the lid of his compass open nonchalantly. He didn't expect it to have changed direction, but it the deep dense dark forest of the Transylvanian land of darkness the navigational instrument was his only pointer. Right from the moment when Lizzie shut that door behind her and on their relationship, the needle of his compass swung decidedly in one particular direction. At first he wanted to run after her, prove her that her compass'd point to her after all, but he soon had to realize that it was his lack of enthusiasm for anything that had to do with life the needle showed. It wasn't the Fountain Of Death he was after, but without his Lizzie, life was so much less worth, the freedom of sailing the seas forever had no appeal to him without a soulmate to share it with, thus in an indirect way showing him the straightest route to what he wanted most, not living without Elizabeth. It has been a march since he'd stepped on land, he only stopped when his horse needed to rest. He religiously followed what the compass told him to do, ever since he had it. There were more ways to die if he really wanted to, but the compass was the only one knowing what exactly it was he wanted, not to mention thinking for himself was best avoided under the circumstances of the mysterious, mountainous, misty land, high on the top of the baleful Carpathians. He'd seen peasants making the sign of the cross when they've seen what direction Jack took off in, he had passed crumbling castles signaling nobody lived in those parts anymore, he was surrounded by the sounds of howling wolves, swooping bats and growling bears that he took as a sign of being close to his destination and now his horse had refused to move.

He didn't urge it on, but dismounted casually and looked around with compass in hand. He curiously dodged the overgrown ferns and a group of moss covered rocks, then there was a succession of stone terraces leading down, too symmetric to be natural. Jack almost stepped onto something squishy and foul, wanted to corner the disgusting object, whatever it was, but then stood in place as he gasped for air at the sight at the bottom of the artificial little valley under the moonlight.

The fountain looked out of this world, and was probably beautiful in a twisted sort of way. There was a rather ornate marble slide leading to some small pillars looking like black cats circling a blackened skull on a platform. The water, or whatever the bubbly, oily black substance was, spurted out from under the jaw of the skull, yet it was making no sound, not even when reaching the small, few feet wide pool below, containing a couple of decaying bodies. Heading nowhere, the water was most probably seeping back into the mountain that contained it.

Yet it wasn't the spring that caught his attention most, but the figure sitting by the pool of water at the other side of the pond on a fallen, dead fir tree trunk.

The squishy something that Jack almost stepped on moved at his feet, turning out to be a large frog. It seemed to want to jump, but in the air it turned into several little frogs, making a bridge over the water that Tia Dalma used to walk across to him barefoot.

Jack recognized her the moment he set eyes on her sitting, quietly smiling to herself on the tree trunk, even if she didn't look much like he'd last seen her, her soft hair was now waving in the light eerie breeze that came from the fountain's direction as well as the water, her beautiful lean figure bounced towards him on the grass, her pearly white teeth shined in the light just like the way it was when they first met, on the Isla Sirena when Jack fought for the sword of Cortes. Encountering him when he was a young, but promising and fine-looking lad, Tia Dalma didn't want to alienate the boy from himself, and being able to take on the form of any age of the human body she was confined to, she chose a younger version of herself for the encounter, a knowing choice that led to Jack entrusting her with the magical sword he wisely considered too powerful to wield for a mere mortal like him.

"Proceed carefully, Jack Sparrow," she cooed, "from here, there's no way back into life, not even fe gods."

"Tia Dalma!" Jack sauntered forward to meet the mystic, opening his arms in a friendly manner, "I take it ye have some plans with me waiting fe me here then?"

tbc


	6. Mintage

Chapter 6: Mintage

"Yer too full of herself, Jack Sparrow," Tia Dalma answered, circling Jack, "I came here to take the advantages of the Fountain itself."

"Hh...how?" Jack stuttered, not wanting to believe that a powerful being like the witch would want an end to herself. It was more likely she'd stock up from the poison she could use even on immortals.

"You claim to know me well, that we go way back, figure it out. Why would I want to die?"

"Maybe ye feel like ye lived too long darling," Jack looked into her eyes for once, having stopped mustering her appearance. He had no idea how old the sea goddess could've been, or that she was a deity at all, but he'd always suspected she was more powerful than she let on, that there was more to her than she let anybody know. She was at least centuries old, he didn't doubt it.

Calypso held his gaze, trying to determine how much he could've known, but she got startled out her initial intentions by his dark eyes, empty and dead, so much different from their normally warm and vivid state. It was as if it was his eyes that reflected a too lengthy life where he'd known darkness too well. She looked at him curiously for a moment before her own emotions took over. How dare a being with his mere forty years compare to her eternity!

"I've known the waters...forever, yet my greatest powers had been taken away from me centuries ago!" That's why she was there. After being bind in human form and not being able to find a way to reverse the curse, she'd tried to forget what she's once been part of, able to curse others herself, control their minds, change bodies, keep half gods captive for sexual pleasures, only to bow to Zeus, the lord of Gods. She concentrated on taking control of smaller powers, voodoo and mysticism, as many as she could so she doesn't feel neutered, incapacitated, cut off. Her father Atlas stopped visiting, her once love Davy Jones died by the hands of Will Turner and she couldn't bring him back, somewhere along the line she found that nothing pleased her anymore, not even interfering with the pirate lords for her amusement if she couldn't force them to bind to her will, but she also lived too long to find anybody's acts hateful or worthy of retaliation. She came here cause she lost the hope of ever becoming Calypso again. Purely marking the time passing, what was the point? She was ready to drink when her psychic powers interrupted her in her intentions and she foreseen Jack's arrival. Jack, reminding her so much of the young Odysseus she was once in love with and forced to leave his wife, Jack, one of the very few factors on earth that was able to make her forget how mortals were supposed to treat her and bow to her. For once, she didn't have to feel like the old, old woman with him, the new experiences that came whenever you were with or around the adventuresome Jack Sparrow, taught her how to breathe again, filled her with fresh energy. The Jack, who refused her and left her when he got what he went for, just like she expected him to do, and who despite her outburst didn't run away now, fearing what she could do to him, like most would've, but was tilting his head, looking at her sympathetically.

A certain understanding passed between them, they shared the same moral grounds, respected each other's strengths, built upon each other's weaknesses several times in the past. If Jack stayed with her this time, perhaps there still was some purpose to living, she could possibly give her everything he'd want, from immortality to domination of the seas, maybe even Elizabeth Swann, but that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? Any deed needed due payment though and if it was Elizabeth Swann what he wanted it had to be her. Only the right conditions of the agreement had to be discussed, for both of their benefit, it was always how it worked between them.

"How about ye help me get my powers back, Jackie? Some business, ei? I get them back, ye do whatever ye want to do with them to help yer own needs? If ye know what ye want at all this time..." She said temptingly, her hips swaying seductively as she sauntered round him and stopped in front, touching his half exposed chest. She hushed him with leaning close to his lips, "don't give me an answer just now," she teased his lips briefly with her tongue before kissing him deep, then she moved close to his ears to whisper into them, "and to answer yer question from earlier, I was expecting ye mainly just to see ye lover boy. Yer not afraid of pleasure, are ye?" She was leaning close the whole time, hovering half an inch from his body, her limbs moving slowly in a way that could've given the appearance as if she was crawling on him.

Jack squinted hesitantly, Tia continued to rub his chest, just over his heart, "I'm quite sure we can manage to get rid of that pounding and aching in there fe some moments or two?" That's all anyone could ask for, that's all she could hope for as well, for herself.

Jack, his compass still in hand, glanced down at it warily and winced. Tia followed his gaze and smiled, satisfied, "not here, me darling." She made a sound similar to croaking and the frogs moved a portion of the marble slide, exposing a dim, damp corridor behind it. "At the other side of the fountain. Where the water of life be."

tbc


	7. Undertide

Chapter 7: Undertide

"I wasn't too much in the mood luv to begin with," Jack shook his head and stopped tiredly, leaning on the passageway's wall, "anymore of this stale air and work done, I'll be dead. Not the condition ye wanted me in, was it?"

"Ye sayin yer no interested?" Tia cocked an eyebrow at him and checked his compass, "damn right ye are! I wonder where it is though yer interests lie, where is it yer compass is pointin, hm? Me, or the Fountain Of Youth?" She teased him, stepping behind him and proving the needle remained pointed forwards, towards where she'd told him the water of eternal life was. "Now that yer so close, death wishes forgotten, is it, just like that?"

"I'm a curious breed," Jack leaned his head back on the wall as well and unconsciously closed his eyes. It wasn't just the last hour of being pulled along by Tia's hand, but the previous week as well. He'd never traveled so much in his life, that is walking, his bottom being bounced about on horseback and climbing the mountainous areas having his horse on a lead, as opposed to the normal way when he was effortlessly carried by the wind.

"Surely ye aren't tired?" Tia taunted some more, "if yer tired yer no good to me, yer no good to yerself cause ye can't please me."

"If I'm tired?" Jack grunted and grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her close. There was vigor in that yank, she could feel all his ego, all his energy, all his masculinity and his naïve belief in success radiating through the muscles pressing firmly against hers. His breath was blowing her let down hair, he towered over her with amazing enforce, given his not so impressive height and the fact that she was supposed to be a goddess, not a hapless wench raring for his every touch.

The deep dark ocean trench of his brown eyes simmered and seethed wildly with the provoked distemper. "You tell me," he said mischievously before he attacked her lips.

Being who she was, she retaliated right away. She pushed him back against the wall and rubbed herself against him in slow motion till she felt a familiar hardness against her, through his hard wearing, but relatively airy and thin linen trousers. Then she drew back, breathing heavily and smiled wittingly, "not that tired, apparently! Good! Looks like some parts of ye does know that ye need me after all."

"Goods fe later," he gave her a wicked grin, "or do ye want payment first?" He rubbed a hand over her back, pressing her against him forcefully again.

"I want you to see..." Tia said softly and suggestively, taking him by the hand, "it's not that far now." With renewed enthusiasm she trailed him wordlessly for a few minutes. Solely their elaborated breathing was to be heard, laden with sweat and anticipation. Through the darkness with only some of her self illuminating precious stones she wore on her necklaces showing the way, she veered them down the narrowing corridor, giving the impression it was leading nowhere. However, she dragged him all the way to the end, where she appeared to be facing him for a hungry and lingering embrace, but with one palm she touched a succession of stones behind herself, then pulled him through the hidden door that silently slid open.

The gleaming bluish light at the other side startled him after the black of the passageway and he heard Tia's hearty laugh before the rush of the water engulfed him in a heartbeat. He'd been too surprised to take a big breath and even though he thought himself the best swimmer comparing to anybody who he'd ever met, he found himself struggling after about a minute of following Tia Dalma towards the surface where a warm and brightly shining sun beaded the eastern horizon. The apparent length of the column of water over his head overwhelmed him, he probably wasn't any deeper than he'd been before, but when jumping into the water himself other times he had the chance to take a deep breath necessary to maintain his arms and legs kicking in the right direction long enough. It wasn't long before he was starting to struggle for air, gulping in small amounts of water. No good, no good, he tried to advise himself in panic from attempting to breathe underwater as he couldn't advance upwards anymore and became lightheaded. Tia Dalma's grinning face came into his blurry vision, who seeing him struggle, wrapped her arms around him and through a kisslike gesture, provided him with air till she pulled him up above the water.

"Ye really do need me, hm?" She cackled.

Jack squinted, wanting to swear and protest, but all he could manage was an occasional pout till he finished spitting and sputtering. "What were ye trying to do?" He grumbled, "show me I don't want to die by drowning me?"

Tia rolled her eyes, "like I'd let ye drown! Will ye ever learn Jack Sparrow that yer one of the ones who can trust me? It's impossible to drown in the water of life me dear."

tbc


	8. Borderland

Chapter 8: Borderland

Jack looked on and then around thoughtfully, confusion and doubt dominating the expressions on his face. They were in some warm turquoise inland pool, with a relatively flat terrain all around and superb, pristine and blinding white sand, landscape that Jack could not categorize any other way than it being the Caribbean. Swimming towards the shore, he could hear the Casuarina pines giving a hypnotic sound in the wind, see the clear shallows giving a unrealistic nuance of greenish blue, pineapples in the distance. If he would've had to guess, he would've said they were in the Bahamas. But how could he see so well, hear so well? He could even smell the pink flowers on the beach from this far. His chest was tingling, he rubbed it and found none of his earlier scars present. He removed his ever present bandana concealing an ugly scar just so he could convince himself it was really happening and his skin was soft as a baby's there as well! Literally bouncing his upper body in and out the water like a dolphin from the excess energy he's just been filled with, he felt so good he simply couldn't care why the water made him almost delirious with pleasure, troubles were forgotten, his eyes darker, his cock harder. He couldn't take it anymore. Reserves aside, he crept on top of Tia lying leisurely in the shallow water, ravaged her swollen lips without self control, slid his tongue into her mouth, pressed his body hard on hers.

"Maybe this water's a bit too much fe ye sanity," Tia laughed at him and held his chest back and away from herself, staring into his deep brown eyes, hypnotizing him with her own smoldering glare while she willed and let little waves lift them up and carry them out the water and onto the sand.

"Me clothes!" Jack watched in awe as everything he'd been wearing had slowly been entangled in seaweed and pulled off him without him getting stuck in the seaweed himself.

"That's all right, ye don't need them," Tia traced his delectable form, then began playing with his cock fondly, stroking it seductively, licking it and kissing it eagerly. She scratched his long fingernails along his raring cock, her teeth copying the action at the other side. It would not hurt the new immortal, just tempt him, make him want to take control, something that nobody else dared with the all-powerful goddess witch for a long while, not even other immortals.

He grinned at her wickedly, then let his hand wonder to her intimate parts to do their own exploring on turn. Not that he would've doubted it, but he was soon to determine she was all set and waiting, her body already moving as if it was his cock inside her, not just two fingers. Yet he sighed. She'd always been insatiable, how could he satisfy her this time? He mumbled to himself distracted, just to find that she got impatient with him hesitating, grabbed his cock, virtually pulled him inside her and lifted her bottom up and far as it'd go.

Thrown into the deep water of her desires and needs, he supported her hips and ran his fingers over her still wet and glistening stomach, mind ye, she was somehow always wet under her clothes, whenever he had the chance to research that. Still conscious of his actions, he thrust into her again and again and then he found something was happening. Ever since the realization of swimming in the water of life he hadn't felt his own flesh, it wasn't the actual play of muscles that was making him move even though it seemed so, it wasn't the air his lungs still sucked in making him live, but this tremendous life force inside of him, inside every little movement of his, every glint of an eye, every flick of his tongue. He closed his eyes, shaking as his body was hardly able to contain all that power. He was only vaguely aware that his thus shuddering inside her made her whimper and moan in a way he'd never heard her before. She brought him here, made him immortal for this experience only, the compelling lovemaking of a newly bred immortal.

As if watching what was unfolding from the outside of his mind, he registered her calling out Jack, Jack, over and over, her swinging on him, hanging onto him, stroking him restlessly as he continued push forward as if with the power of the universe. Inside his brain planets were born, supernovas exploded, civilizations disappeared in the void in a fashion never known to ordinary people, yet his world had not stopped spinning with the overpowering explosion coming from his penis akin to a comet crashing into earth. Even if he was a born traveler, son of the keeper of the code, rider of a pterodactyl, seeing the past, present and future of all that was important and above mankind was all too much for him. Still trembling with the aftermath of his becoming, he was reduced to buckling to the ground beside her.

Tia smiled with satisfaction and wrapped herself around him once more, this time with the intention to comfort him against the first few minutes of being all too powerful for the world to be enough, yet that didn't stop her from continuing to savor her time with him, touching him, covering him with little kisses.

Finally he lifted his head. "Love." He stated. "The only thing left more powerful or worthy to acquire, worthy to live for."

Tia winced. Jack's always been quick on the mark, he figured this one out too while some people took centuries, or never. She hadn't expected anything else though. "I will give ye Elizabeth Turner at the end. Ye go and steal all the pieces of eight from all the pirate lords. That's the deal. There. A hurricane of mine jest blown yer Pearl over here."

tbc


	9. Grind

Chapter 9: Grind

So far, it was the relativeness of the swiftness of the quest that bothered him. Rounding up eight pirate lords all over the world with the help of a sea goddess with some, if not too much power over the weather, currents and sea creatures was not going to take years as it would've normally, but Jack suspected they could've went even faster if Tia wanted to, instead of her frequent requests to spend the day in the cabin with Jack. He didn't want to kill Mistress Ching either, it just happened so during the duel with him that she was so adamant on, just like she did once in Tortuga, when she was running a brothel. For an immortal like him winning duels was easy, Villanueva, Ammand and Jocard were forced to give over their pieces of eight, Sao Feng still had a sister he could use to get through to the pirate lord of the South China Sea, Chevalle could be convinced to get drunk enough together with Jack's father not to notice his piece of eight disappearing. Sumbhajee was always ready to negotiate, Jack could add his own piece and Lizbeth's been kind enough to forget her part of the puzzle in the care of Ragetti, where it usually resided.

Tia stroked and nursed the the bowl, full with the junk the pirate lords once declared pieces of eight, the prerequisite's of her becoming a proper goddess again, suddenly not so sure what to do, "are ye certain it's Elizabeth Swann ye want?" She looked up at Jack. She could've forced herself upon him, especially after becoming who she once was, but she couldn't do that to the one person she really loved, could she? Betraying your lover didn't pay off, she'd learned that the hard way.

Jack tilted his head and looked away, suddenly very busy with cleaning under those nails of his where there hasn't been cleaned for decades.

Tia reached up and pulled his head back down towards her, just a light touch of his jaw. One last kiss, that's all she'd ask. For a moment she stared into those glorious eyes of his that conveyed so much mystery and promises eternity couldn't compete. Her kiss was drawn-out, sorrowful and wild, she made it last as long as possible before making it completely unnaturally lengthy. She literally ripped herself away, she had come a long way and suffered enough just to arrive to a point where she had to wait centuries at least before she found out if Jack'd ever change his mind or not. She put on her serene expression, the one she kept deceiving everyone with that there was no monster raring to jump to the surface inside her. For Jack their relationship was mere business, means to an end, means to getting to Elizabeth. From here on she was alone. Not having the courage to face her demons, she set the bowl in fire while still in his arms.

Jack, the epitome of a strong and and sensitive lover if he wanted to be, was not oblivious to her struggle, he held her tight, swaying a little to the rhythm of the water under the ship. They both took the comfort in each other as he gently traced her shoulders lovingly, then kissed her neck and an earlobe before whispering the words she asked him to recite earlier, into her ears, "Calypso..." His mind fighting a slow battle about whether she wanted him to claim her once more, he decided to continue, "I release you from your human bonds..."

She felt herself weaken, even though she knew her powers were returning, but at this moment it was her losses that overpowered her gain. Just like when having to let go of Odysseus, she had to concentrate on the next adventure. "William Turner, yer destiny awaits," she cackled to conceal her dissidence, her fists clenched and then she was ready to take over the seas once more. Calypso hoped Jack'd remember that sound of her laugh, as it used to make him hot and bothered once. She twirled out his arms, spinning around towards the railing, opened her arms and glided off the Pearl like a seagull. She swirled in the air once more, smiling at his awe of what she'd just done, then headed for the sea below, turning into a dolphin before she hit the water and disappeared.

Jack frowned, confused, then rushed to the side, only just catching a glimpse of her fins submerging. "What? Was that it? What about the agreement?" He shouted after her.

"For what we want most, the cost will be paid," a petrel flew close and screeched into his ears as her answer.

Calypso cut the water in front of her like a knife, quickly leaving the Pearl behind if it served her no more purpose. On a joyride using her refound powers, she changed from creature to creature, depending on which one was the best to the fastest under the circumstances of whichever ocean or depth she was at. She circled the world, not stopping till she covered all the deepest trenches, all the coastlines, tossed some icebergs in the shape she preferred to reclaim all waters. She talked to the whale communities and instructed them on their new duties, raised some shipwrecks she never wanted down, stopped by Malta for a little nostalgic moment. There were several things to catch up with still, but most importantly she had to fulfill her promise to Jack. She closed her eyes to locate the Dutchman, then morphed into a cloud to catch the ship.

The plan was easy and Elizabeth Swann made it even easier by being on deck when Calypso arrived. All it took was a sudden gust of wind the goddess created to swipe the young woman off board and a little mist so nobody could see it. Then, she started raining, gathering herself drop by drop aboard the ship and taking on the form of Elizabeth. From now on, she will live by Will Turner's side as if she was Elizabeth. Her curiosity peaked. Oh, how she'd been looking forward to her first lovemaking with the captain of the new Dutchman. If she remembered right, a person able to hop realities by ferrying souls always had a little extra to offer when in bed too. She sauntered towards the captain's cabin, vaguely remembering that at the same time her powers were meant to direct a couple of sea turtles to give the real Elizabeth a ride to Jack...

tbc


	10. Settlement

Chapter 10: Settlement

"Is she hurt? Is she dead?" Jack rasped, frozen over in shock after Gibbs told him that Elizabeth's body was found floating in front of them in the water.

Gibbs was stuttering and it might've even taken him some rum to spit it out what he's been asked about. "I don't...but..." he first mate manged after an ominous pause.

Jack couldn't wait any longer, he had to see it for himself. The few moments till he reached her were torture, not knowing in what condition she was in was killing him, at least as much as an immortal could die. The crew standing mutely around her didn't help the foreboding atmosphere.

From an old and drunken man like Gibbs it was a great achievement to race as fast his captain and be there for him, next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as he was faced with the sight. "I'm sorry Jack, she's dead," he rushed to say, trying to overcome his drunken slur before Jack'd have to go though the excruciation of having to find out for himself and in the meantime vainly hope it wasn't true. His gaze remained stuck to his friend and since he didn't like the reaction of absolute craze on Jack's face, he tried to pull him towards himself, turn him around, "ye don't have to watch. Marty and the lads will take care of everything."

"She's not dead," Ragetti stood up from next to her.

"She's not?!" Gibbs gave a shocked hick up.

"What I mean is that I heard some put fish marinated in salt and gutted in the Fountain Of Youth and it came back to life," nodded the tall pirate, who's eyesight has been reinstalled when Jack brought the water of life back for all them.

Although he hasn't seen the water of life in action in that way, Jack was already uncorking the flask he filled up at the Fountain Of Youth, tilting it towards her mouth. Hope was flickering in him once more, but not bearing to stand the thought of not succeeding, he let her back down on the wooden deck and hid his face behind his hands.

It was his crew that watched Elizabeth's body being slightly covered by a little shimmer, something they were not sure they were seeing at all, imagining it, or it was just the play of the rays of the sun. Her skin glowed, her curves softened, her hair untuggied itself. Her chest rose and her hand reached out to grasp something, it by chance being the front of his shirt.

Jack's gasp was similar to her first breath, "she's alive..." He kept one hand up by his face to wipe his watery eyes and his other hand moved under her shoulders so he could hold her up to himself.

All those around gave a collective gasp as well, and started moving relieved as well when Elizabeth gave a sign of her being among the living. Some laughed, some smiled, some patted each other on the shoulder, or called out for permission to drink rum to celebrate.

Elizabeth's eyes opened against Jack's chest, her fingers clutched the fabric of his clothes, she brushed her palm against his beaded goatee, smelt his familiar scent, a mixture of sweet and salty, it was like a dream...But it was too real for that. "What's..." She shook her head and disentangled herself from him, looking around perplexed, "how did I get here? What are you looking like that for?"

"You died..." Jack started to explain.

Elizabeth climbed to her feet and stomped one immediately, "I had a very bad argument with Will and then I went out on deck and then someone knocked me overboard, but I can assure you I am alive! Stop looking like that you all! It wasn't Will who pushed me over!"

"Are you sure of that, pet?" Ragetti pushed himself in her field of vision, "the ferryman of the dead is well capable of producing one of those corpses imself."

Elizabeth got hold of his cheeks and turned his face from left to right to see if she wasn't imagining him having both his eyes again. "How..." She whispered, looking at Jack for the explanation.

"The water of life that raised you did that as well," he waved his hand as if it was an unimportant detail, then took her into his arms again, "does it matter how ye got here? All that matters is that yer here..."

Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. Perhaps she'd ask those questions later, but at the moment she was just happy to be back herself, "I missed you so much, Jack." Evil or not, she couldn't live with Will, she had the chance to try and she knew that now. She turned her head to rest it on his shoulder, words were not needed for her to enjoy the comforting feeling of the close touch, experience she now cherished more than ever, so she held on tight and shushed him when he wanted to speak.

They stood for a long time, till the crew has finally figured they had something better to do than watch them, then she raised her head, "marry me Jack, the right way."

The End.


End file.
